TRUMBULL COUNTY Man faces jail in wreck that killed his friend

The Warren man said the victim was like a brother to him. By DENISE DICK VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF WARREN -- A 23-year-old Warren man will spend 30 days in the county jail and then likely be granted work-release for a misdemeanor vehicular homicide charge. Police said that on July 28, Christopher Denno's 1996 red Camaro crashed into a telephone pole on North Road S.E. He was seriously injured and his friend, Jeremy Roddy, 25, of Howland, was killed. "There are no words that are powerful enough to describe how truly sorry I really am," Denno said, addressing the court and Roddy's family members. He said he thought of Roddy as a brother and he'll have to live with the crash the rest of his life. Pleaded 'no contest' Denno pleaded 'no contest' to the charge Friday before Judge Terry Ivanchak of Warren Municipal Court. The judge sentenced him to six months in Trumbull County Jail beginning Monday but said he would likely be transferred to a work-release program after 30 days to complete the sentence. The judge also ordered Denno to pay a $1,000 fine plus court costs and spend three years on probation. He suspended Denno's driver's license for three years. "Whatever sentence I give you will eventually be over," Judge Ivanchak said. "But there's a part of you that will probably be imprisoned for the rest of your life." The judge said he listened to the victim impact statements given by Roddy's family last week when Pamela Miller, Roddy's mother, said she wanted her son back. "If there was any kind of sentence I could give to give you your son back, I would, but I can't," the judge said. Emotional reactions Members of Denno's family sobbed in the back of the courtroom as the judge spoke. Roddy's family, seated in the front, also wiped away tears. Miller, who clutched a picture of her and her son, said her family is glad it's over. "There are no winners here," she said. The Roddy family wanted Denno to face felony charges, but a Trumbull County grand jury indicted him on misdemeanor charges.